The Hope of Humanity: Lost in the Wastes
by Taco Dinero
Summary: After the Battle of Installation 00, Master Chief & Cortana do get teleported back to Earth. However, the planet they come back to is not the same one they left. Halo 3/Fallout 3 Crossover
1. That Didn't Take Long

Lost in the Wasteland

Halo/Fallout 3 Crossover

Chapter 1: "Something Tells Me I'm Not Going to Like This"

"Wake me… when you need me," The chief told Cortana as he entered the Cryo-chamber. Cortana felt both joy and sorrow watching her personally chosen Spartan begin his long slumber. On one hand, she was all too happy John had survived the great odds stacked against him in the Human-Covenant War. On the other side, she felt a sinking depression and a great sense of loneliness, having no one to talk to. She had just barely come back from the verge of rampancy, and she wasn't sure if she could fend it off again all alone. Lucky for her, it wouldn't be long before the need to wake Chief came up once again.

As the back end of the _Dawn _drifted through space, Cortana used the ship's damaged sensors to determine that they were on a collision course with a planet. Cortana was astonished at what could only be considered a miracle, despite not being programmed for religion. 48 hours after making the discovery, Cortana popped the lid off of the cryo-chamber.

"Chief! Chief, wake up. We've got a situation." John slowly came to. He felt a stinging sensation all along his body as he tried to regain control of his body. Having finally gotten his senses back, he stood up and scanned the immediate area.

"What's wrong Cortana?" asked John.

"You're not going to believe this. I used the Dawn's scanners to detect the nearby area. We're on a collision course with a planet," Cortana warned.

"Is it a mapped planet?" the Spartan asked.

"You could say that." The picture of Cortana on the pedestal disappeared, replaced by a hologram of said planet. "It's Earth Chief. We're on a collision course with Earth."

"How?" Chief questioned, always to the point.

"No idea. I didn't get to spend any time on the Ark, so I wasn't able to get into the system and learn how the installation's systems worked. My best guess, our piece of the Dawn was deep enough in the portal to shoot us back to Earth, just not connected with the forward half." Cortana's image came back on the pedestal. "There's something wrong though. There isn't any space debris from Orbital Defense Platforms or the UNSC fleet. None from the Covenant ships either. What's bothering me most is the radiation I've picked up in the atmosphere."

"The Covenant Loyalists reinforcements must have come while we were at the Ark," the supersoldier reasoned.

"Nuclear weapons aren't really the Covenant's style." Cortana rebuttled. "They're usually more…efficient, with their planetary destruction."

John-117 stood their silently, hoping that all his efforts to save humanity weren't for nothing. "So what are our options?"

"I've determined our trajectory. The Dawn will be entering Earth's atmosphere in about 2 hours, and it'll be crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. Then we can swim back to shore." Cortana sarcastically suggested.

"I'd rather not." Chief replied.

"Didn't think so. There's 3 undamaged drop pods left in the ship's rear. We can use one of them to drop down, fill the other two with supplies. I can set the pods to land near Washington D.C., that's where our best bet for making contact with any UNSC officials is going to be at the moment, if there's anyone still down there at all that is."

The Master Chief wasted no time in heading to the drop pods. Finding the last 3 usable pods, John plugged Cortana into the control console to set their landing coordinates as he filled the pods with supplies. Using the Special Forces armory conveniently located next to the pods, John loaded them up with an ODST survival pack in each, (the backpacks in Halo 3:ODST) carrying spare bio-foam canisters and all the MRE's available in the Dawn's mess hall. In his personal pod, John put an M7S Caseless SMG with all the amenities including a smart-link reflex scope, sound suppressor, and laser sight. For a sidearm, the Chief chose an unmodified M6C, and for heavy weapons, the very last "Spartan Laser" in the armory. In one of the other pods, John put in a SRS99D-S2 AM and his signature MA5C with spare clips. In the last pod, he placed a BR55HB and the always handy M90 Shotgun with ammo for both as well.

Finally prepared, Chief went to the console to retrieve Cortana and closed the pod doors. John settled himself into the seat and readied himself for a drop onto the human homeworld. The Spartan prayed for another soul to be on Earth, just so he knew everything he sacrificed was for something.

"Our window for dropping into D.C. is closing Chief….ready?" Cortana asked.

"Do it."


	2. The Welcoming

The Hope of Humanity: Lost in the Wastes

Chapter 2: The Welcoming

As the Dawn plummeted to Earth, Chief's HEV parted ways with the back half of the frigate. The 2 other drop pods, carrying Chief's scavenged weapons & supplies also fell to the ground, one heading the northeast of Chief's drop point, the other to the southeast. The pod crashed violently into an outcropping of rocks, knocking Chief momentarily unconscious.

In the nearby Fordham Flash Field 3 raiders watched as the "rock" dropped from the sky. Naturally curious, the trio made their way over to the crash site. Upon closer inspection, the group found the asteroid to actually be a teardrop-shaped hunk of metal. There was a small glass window, but none of them could make out anything inside the container.

"Hey, I think this is the door, help me open it." One of the raiders said.

"Excuse me," A woman's voice bursted from the pod, "This is UNSC property, I advise all of you to step away immediately".

The three raiders took a step back from the HEV "UNSC? What the fuck is that?"

"Who gives a shit, all I know is there's a girl in there, and I haven't seen some action in a while." Grins came over the trio's faces.

"Ah come on lady, we're just lookin' for some fun. Why don't you come outta there? We'll show ya a good time." The three raiders began to snicker.

Back inside the pod, Chief's eyes flickered as he slowly came to. The first thing he noticed were 3 shadowy figures standing outside the pod trying to get open the hatch. He could hear them cursing and taunting his AI companion, still believing she was a real woman.

"Waking up finally, huh? I have some good news Chief. It seems as though humanity survived. And so did assholes."

"I've noticed," John muttered groggily.

Back outside, one raider grabbed a lead pipe and began bashing the tiny glass section of the HEV hatch repeatedly, but to no avail.

"Last warning boys," Cortana's voice rang out from the pod. "Back away NOW."

The raiders laughed, oblivious to who was really inside the pod. Seconds later, the sound of decompression emitted from the HEV. As the raiders looked on, the hatch door exploded, propelling itself into one of the raiders, knocking him out cold. A cloud of dust picked up as Master Chief stood. The awestruck raiders squinted to make out the figure.

"What the fuck is that? Looks like a Super Mutant" asked one of the men.

"Super mutant?" Cortana inquired.

"No no, it looks like some kind of Power Armor," That raider assured. "You're gonna pay for what you did to our friend bitch." The Raiders began to walk slowly towards the Chief, one wielding a bat and the other aiming a hunting rifle.

Cortana, attempted to warn the mean, "I wouldn't do that if I were you boys…."

"Hand over the suit honey, maybe we'll go easy on you". At that moment, John sprang into action. Catching the bat of one of the assailants during mid-swing, John took it out of the raider's hand, spun around and using his momentum smacked the bat into the back of the first attacker, sending the man to the ground. As he lay there motionless, the second raider looked on in horror. He took a shot at John, the .32 caliber round effortlessly bouncing off of the advanced MJLOJNIR armor's shielding. The Spartan sprinted at the Raider, closing the gap before the man had a chance to re-chamber another bullet in his bolt action rifle. John grabbed the rifle from man's hand, grabbed onto the butt of the rifle and smacked it into the man's face, knocking him to the ground as well. Throwing the gun to the ground, John picked up the raider by his jacket, lifting him up with one hand.

"OH GOD! I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE!" begged the raider, kicking with all his might to get free.

John's voice came through the faceless visor "I have questions. Answer them, or get me someone who can."

"I thought you were a chick! Uh well yea, yea sure thing no problem. Just uh, just go to Big Town, they'll tell ya anything you need to know, it's right ova that ridge, you can't miss it." John threw the raider to the ground, observing the area in which he was pointed to. The raider scurried along, sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him. John returned to the HEV, grabbed his M7S, M6C, Spartan Laser, and the survival pack full of supplies and headed off over the ridge.

He approached what appeared to be a makeshift settlement, walled in by oddly designed cars. The only sign of life were scattered fires inside the "compound". John walked towards what looked to be the entrance, a small pond with a wooden bridge spanning the distance. "This must be it, I don't see anything else for miles," The Chief thought to himself. Then came a voice from across the bridge.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" questioned the guard as he stood up, grabbing his own rifle.

"Master Chief Petty Officer of the UNSC Navy, call-sign Sierra 117." stated John, as professionally as possible. "Is this Big Town?"

"Uh huh….well good for you buddy." The guard gave a stare of confusion to John. "I'm Dusty, and yes, this is Big Town. I suppose you're not here to kill or enslave us, are you? No, you would have done that already." The watchman lowered his rifle.

"Enslave? By the covenant?" Chief inquired.

"No, by slavers of course."

"The UNSC are enslaving people?"

"Nah, by slavers from Paradise Falls. I don't know about any U-N-S-C." Dusty replied

"He doesn't know what the UNSC is?! Is he living under a rock?" gasped Cortana.

John was perplexed by the comment. "He's obviously not in the right state of mind" Cortana confided to her spartan. Chief continued with the guard, "Are there any covenant left on Earth?"

"Sorry, but you're asking the wrong person. I don't know anything about these things you're asking me. If Red were still here I'd send you her way, but she's been captured by the Muties up north."

"Muties?"

"Yeah, super mutants. They come to Big Town and kidnap us, probably eat us later on. During their last attack they came and took Red and Shorty." Dusty explained. "I see you have some nifty power armor there…maybe you could go up there and rescue them? I'm sure she could answer any questions you have for her. Maybe she'll throw you a few caps as well."

"We don't have much choice Chief…we're not getting any answers with this guy." Cortana sighed. "This Red person might be able to get some information, if she isn't already killed by these 'Super Mutants' we keep hearing about."

John nodded in agreement. "What can you tell me about Super Mutants?" he asked the guard.

"They're big, green, scary…kinda like you. I actually thought you were one before I got a better look at ya. They're a lot stronger than a regular human…and they don't like us much either. They'll attack any human they see on sight." Dusty informed. "They're not too smart and usually not too well armed, they use hunting rifles mostly, like this one here."

"Give me your rifle" Chief asked, holding out his hand.

"Um, sure…just give it back when you're done…I guess" Dusty, intimidated by the supersoldier, gave the hunting rifle over without a fight. The chief examined the design of the rifle. He then pulled back the bolt action releasing a round from the chamber and caught the round. He assessed the round and its potential for damage. Satisfied with his research, he put the round back in and closed the bolt, handing it back to Dusty.

"They're based up north?" Chief asked, getting down to business.

"Yeah, at Germantown, it's they're stronghold in this region." Dusty pointed in the general direction of the settlement.

"If she's still alive, I'll bring her back."

Before Dusty had a chance to respond, the chief turned abruptly and began to walk, heading off to Germantown. Dusty, returned to his lookout chair, wondering if the man in the green power armor was really foolish enough to attempt an assault on Germantown all by himself.


	3. Rescue from Germantown

The Hope of Humanity

Chapter 3: Rescue from Germantown

On the outskirts of Germantown, Master Chief scouted out the surrounding area. From his observations, the Spartan saw that Germantown was hardly a town at all. It contained only one standing building at its center, surrounded by rubble where other buildings once stood. Next to the main building was a cluster of tents surrounded by a fence. Although his vision was obstructed, the Chief could make out the tops of 3 or 4 green heads moving about in the encampment. Of more immediate concern were 3 of the so-called "Super Mutants", 2 searching through the rubble filled outskirts of the town armed with a hunting rifle and what looked like a piece of wood with a nail through it and another mutant pacing through the street outside the main building, wielding another hunting rifle. All 3 wore rudimentary metal armor, which would likely only provide minimal protection at best against gunfire.

From examining Dusty's hunting rifle, John knew that their rifles would do negligible damage to the MJLONIR armor's shield. However, Chief couldn't be sure how dangerous a mutant would be in one on one combat. Other than being green, they had a similar build to that of the Brutes and although they surely weren't nearly as dangerous as Hunters, John decided it would be better not to take unnecessary chances.

"Those must be super mutants," Cortana broke in. "Quite an ugly bunch. So what's the plan chief? The usual run 'n' gun?," asked Cortana sarcastically.

John didn't respond. The supersoldier crouched along the insides of the broken buildings to the east side of town, staying out of sight. The chief decided his first targets would be the pair of mutants ahead of him patrolling through ruins. The Chief could take down the two behind the cover of the ruins without alerting any other mutants to his presence. Silently stalking the two, Chief overheard a conversation they were having.

"Did you see pretty light in sky last night?"

"Yes. I could not stop looking."

"A giant rock came to ground, but I saw no heard no boom."

"It must have fall in big water."

"You know some say us Super Mutants came to ground on big rock in sky."

"You idiot. You already know we made by green stuff!."

"You must always ruin happy thoughts!"

Cortana's voice opened up inside the helmet. "I think their talking about the Dawn, chief. I'm surprised they can talk at all, they didn't look too smart upon first glance."

John waited for them to separate momentarily. He didn't have to wait too long. The mutant holding a nailboard was distracted by a tiny toy car on the ground. The mutant crouched down to grab the car, but Master Chief, aiming his M7S submachine gun, unloaded two bursts into the creature's skull. He watched as the hunched over monster crashed to the ground, head first, leaving his rear end in the air in a rather compromising position. John, accustomed to fighting shielded and well armored enemies, was both surprised and relieved at how effective his weapon and ammunition was against the beast. Every bullet would count until he could link up with UNSC forces, if there were still any left.

About 30 seconds later, the other mutant returned to investigate what was holding his partner up. The mutant looked around, and upon seeing his dead comrade prepared a warning yell. John acted quickly, shooting off another 2 bursts of M7S fire to the head, the mutant joined his companion on the ground. After checking to make sure he had attracted no attention, John went over to investigate the bodies.

"What do you make of it Cortana?" Chief asked.

"It has all human features, except for its green skin obviously. My guess….," hypothesized Cortana,

"These were humann at one point, than something happened to change their cell structure immensely. What that thing might have been, I have no clue."

Master Chief acknowledged the assessment, then resumed his mission. Staying hidden amongst the ruins, the super-soldier eyed his next target, the mutant patrolling the street. Walking alone, this "mutie" was easy prey. Chief waited patiently for it to walk past him, then keeping a low profile, scurried across the street behind the mutant. In a flash, John took one hand under the creature's chin and another on top of his skull, and twisted its neck. The mutant's body fell quickly into its assassin's arms as the Chief dragged his victim to a dumpster propped against the main building, quickly and quietly putting the body into the dumpster, leaving no visible evidence of the act.

The Spartan continued to the western side of the building and scouted the area. The main building had an exposed second floor with a door leading into the interior. John decided this would be his point of entrance. He proceeded to open the door slowly and quietly. Once inside, he could hear another pair of mutants conversating.

"I am hungry! When we eat? I hungry NOW!."

"In time. We will eat the male when sunset."

"I do not want to wait. What about the female, can we eat her?"

"NO. We need her. Make more of us."

"Yes, you are right, make more of us."

The two beasts continued their patrol unaware of the impeding danger lurking through the station. Crouching along the wall, the chief waited for a moment for the next pair of mutants to be separated. John could hear the mutants continue talking….

"Go check on captives, I finish trap."

This was Chief's chance. One super mutant walked out of a room on the left side of the hall, turned left, and continued through a door to the downstairs. John kept quiet, peaking into the room the super mutant had previously come out of. He saw another of the creatures crouched down, setting up what appeared to be a shotgun with its trigger attached to a nearby trip wire. Silently, the Chief kept low and in the shadows, nearly to within arm's length of the beast. The resourceful Spartan pulled the wire, releasing the trigger and setting off the shotgun while the mutant was seeding the trap. The shell blasted a hole through the torso of the super mutant, even coming through the other side to damage the Chief's shield, ever so slightly. The echo of the shot rang through the building. Downstairs the super mutant sent to check on the captives came rushing back up, bursting through the door.

"GAAAAAH YOU IDIOT! I KNEW YOU TOO STUPID TO DO SET UP TRAP!" screamed the mutie at his departed companion.

"You waste perfectly good ammo. If alive, I would kill you myself!"

As the mutant searched his friend, John appeared out of the shadows. He pounced on the mutant, using his fist to punch into its head, causing the "mutie's" skull to crack and break in. The mutant thumped lifelessly to the ground. The chief grabbed the weapon the mutant was carrying, a bolt action rifle, similar to the one used by Dusty, the Big Town guard. Using a belt worn by the dead super mutant to hold the abdominal armor in place, the Chief created a sling to hang the rifle around his body and moved on with his mission.

On the first level, the Spartan continued his search. Coming across 3 more mutant sentries patrolling by themselves, John dispatched them individually and easily with quick bursts from his M7S. Happening upon jail cells on the ground floor, the Chief located a woman in the first cell.

"Oh shit you're back!". "Wait…you're not a mutie," concluded the prisoner. "Please sir, let me out of here!" the woman pleaded.

"Are you Red?" Chief replied.

"YES! Did you come for me?. The captive asked. "I appreciate it, but you're gonna need a jail key before I…."

Before finishing her sentence, the Chief grabbed the cell's sliding door, and using his incredible force to bend the door, completely ripped the door off, tossing it to the other side of the room.

"Wow…thank you so much." said Red. "Did you happen to see my friend? His name's Shorty, I think the super mutants took him to the basement.

"Sorry, I didn't see him" responded John.

"Well listen, I don't know why you came to get me, but I am NOT leaving until I find out what happened to my friend," demanded Red.

Master Chief took off his slung hunting rifle and handed it to Red, who was surprised by the gesture and a little nervous, having only minimal experience with weapons. The two went to the basement and overheard a 3rd pair of mutants talking.

"I hungry noooooow, let us eat this human!"

"We not supposed to, this human for everyone…but, I guess one limb not much trouble."

Just then, Red's rifle discharged, firing into a wall and alerting the 2 Super Mutants. Moving to investigate the sound of the shot, one mutant spotted Red and the Master Chief and proceeded to charge, wielding only a sledgehammer. The monster was quickly cut down with M7S fire to the head. The other mutant, using his comrade's dead body as cover, managed to get the jump on the Chief. It swung another sledgehammer, hitting John's hand and knocking his M7S out of his hand. Then it went for another swing, attempting to come right onto Chief's head. John, using his reflexes, rolled out of the way of the hammer as it came crashing to the ground. Reaching for his M6C, the Super-soldier unloaded half a clip onto the mutant's head, quickly taking out the monster. Finding the area to be secure, the veteran soldier calmly picked up his M7S, and motioned Red to continue on.

"Maybe you'll be a little more careful who you give weapons out to next time, huh Chief?," laughed Cortana.

"I'm really sorry about that, I really am! I'm just not too good with guns," reasoned Red." I'm a doctor, not a soldier."

"Is this him?" Chief said, ignoring Red's apologies and pointing to a man tied up in a kitchen.

The man began to speak, "Hey, if you're gonna eat me, just get it over with already."

"Shorty!" yelled Red as she ran over to untie his hands.

"RED!? You're ok?" exclaimed Shorty, relieved to see her fine. "Who's you're friend?"

"I was sort of hoping maybe you knew him," Said Red.

"We can worry about this later," reminded John. "Right now, we need to get you back home."

The group made their way upstairs to the first floor. The trio entered the hallway, approaching the exit door closest to the jail cell that John had first found Red in. As if waiting for the humans, a super mutant kicked the door opened and was accompanied by 3 other mutants filing in right behind him. Red and Shorty were immediately panicked and disarrayed, but the Spartan stayed unnaturally calm.

"Laser 'em chief," ordered Cortana.

Crouching down, John proceeded to pull out his Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle, more commonly referred to as the Spartan Laser, and began to charge. The Mutants charged down the hallway, firing hunting rifles and an automatic rifle the Chief had not yet seen before. Despite their best efforts, John's shields were damaged only ever so slightly. Having charged his laser fully, the Spartan unleashed an intense shot of energy never seen before by wasteland creatures. The beam ripped through 3 of the mutants and skimmed a 4th. The beam was so strong that it still gave the beast 3rd degree burns and effectively crippled it. John walked over to the injured mutant, and pulling out his M6C he shot a single bullet into the head of the mutant, putting it out of its misery. Red and Shorty were in awe of such a powerful attack. They exchanged stares at each other, than looked at their savior in green armor before them.

"Let's go." Commanded John, waving two fingers indicating for Shorty & Red to follow.

Shorty, confiding to Red, "Who is this guy exactly?"

Red shrugged her shoulders, having not the slightest clue about this mysterious warrior. Then, braking out with a smile, stated, "I'm just glad he's on our side."


	4. Follow the Irradiated Road

The Hope of Humanity: Lost in the Wastes

Chapter 4: Follow the Irradiated Road

Having eliminated all Super Mutant resistance at Germantown, the Master Chief escorted Red & Shorty safely back to Big Town. As they crossed the small bridge that served as the entrance, Dusty stared in disbelief that the man in the green armor had actually managed to bring back his friends.

"YOU DID IT!" shouted Dusty as he stood up from his chair.

Upon hearing Dusty, the denizens of Big Town all ran to the entrance to see what was going on. Red & Shorty sprinted past John and embraced their friends in hugs and handshakes.

"Reunions never get old," chimed in Cortana.

After the celebrations died down, Red turned around and walked up to the Chief.

"Thank you so much for getting me and Shorty out of there. I'm assuming a guy like you would want some reward for saving us. We don't have much here at Big Town, but I do have some caps to give you that we usually use to buy off slavers," Red began to ruffle through a knapsack of things.

"I need information," responded Chief. "I was told you would be the person to talk to."

Surprised, Red put away her bag containing the town's caps.

"I'd be more than happy to help." said Red cheerfully.

John nodded. "Where can I find a UNSC encampment?".

Red thought deeply. "UNSC? I'm not really not sure what you mean by that."

"United Nations Space Command." John informed.

"Space command, huh?," Red continued to think, trying as hard as she could to help the man she owed her life to. "I'm really sorry, but I don't know anything about a space command."

"Maybe the UNSC disbanded Chief….wouldn't surprise me given the conditions here," despaired Cortana.

Chief continued on unfazed. "What about the Covenant? Are there any left on Earth?"

"Hmmm Covenant? No, there's no Covenant that I've heard of around here." answered Red.

Inside his helmet, John's eyes opened wide. How could she not know who the Covenant was either? Something was very wrong.

"The Covenant…the alien alliance that humanity fought for about 25 years," explained Chief. "They're the reason Earth is like this, correct?"

"Aliens? Um, sorry friend, but aliens don't exist. The wasteland is the way it is because of a war some 200 or 300 years ago, and I'm pretty sure it was between humans." said Red.

"300 years ago?," Cortana exclaimed. "We must have went through a "slow slipspace", probably a result of the portal closing as we went through it." Cortana conjured her theories. "And a war between humans? Perhaps fighting over resources…there has to be records of what happened, Chief."

"Is there somewhere I might be able to find out more about the war?" asked Chief.

Red placed and hand under her chin and began stroking gently, as though trying to indicate she was thinking very hard. "Down in the D.C. area," Red began, "There's a group based there, they call themselves the Brotherhood of Steel. I've only heard about them through the occasional Galaxy News Radio broadcast and the rare trader that comes through here." Red paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "According to traders, they pay very well for anyone who can bring them any writings from before the war that are in good condition. If anyone is going to have information, it'll be them."

John nodded. "Where in the city are they located?"

"A place called the Citadel. I've never been to the D.C. area myself so I couldn't really direct you there." said Red. "But maybe this will help you find out." Red pulled out a small sack and threw it to Chief. John opened it up and looked inside to see about a 100 or so bottle caps.

"Thanks…what exactly…is this for?" John inquired.

"You don't know what caps are?," laughed Red. After seeing that John did not find it as funny, she continued, "Oh….you're serious. Um, well, they're caps. Currency of the wasteland."

Chief gave a subtle nod to convey his understanding. "I need to get going."

"Wait a second!" yelled out Red, a little stunned by the man's abruptness. "You've done so much for us…and we don't even know you're name."

"Master Chief." stated John sternly.

"Thank you, Master Chief." said Red. "You don't have to leave right away you know. If you want to stay for a night to rest you're more than welc…." Before Red could finish her offer John turned and crossed over the bridge. "Or…you could just leave. Either way's fine I suppose."

As quickly as he came into the lives of the citizens of Big Town, he left just as fast. The Master Chief had changed the perspectives of the people who lived there. He gave them hope, to fight back and not simply accept their fates. While slavers still posed a threat, unlike the Super Mutants, they could be negotiated with. The Super Mutants themselves were sure to leave the people of Big Town alone for some time after such a devastating attack on Germantown. Red would make sure to use this valuable time to organize Big Town into a real settlement, not a source for human resources.

Using Cortana's internal database, the Chief was able to map out a general direction to Washington D.C., which was due south of his position. The problem wouldn't be finding D.C., but finding out what the "Citadel" was, and who these Brotherhood of Steel characters were. Would they be friendly? Hostile?

Walking parallel to a lake, John saw the damaged remnants of the past. To the left of the Chief was an overturned boat grounded by years of receding water with its cargo of metal crates scattered. In the middle of the lake was the debris of a collapsed highway overpass. "According to my map…this is where the Potomac River used to run." noted Cortana. "Look how dead this everything is….," she lamented.

The soldier pushed on. Up ahead the Chief could make out the silhouettes of damaged buildings and homes. Upon closer inspection, John could see that this was once the ruins of a suburban town, now almost devoid of life, except for a few unfriendly faces looking at John through the windows of a hollowed out elementary school. Further ahead, the Spartan saw what looked to be a floating metal ball with long antennas extending far behind it. Emitting from its speakers was a cheerful song that contrasted the bleak landscape around it. "I've never seen anything like that before," said the AI, "I believe its playing Yankee Doodle. Hah, imagine that. Kind of reminds me of the Monitor."

On the street the small robot patrolled was a metal sign with words 'Megaton' painted on them, and pointing south. John assumed this to be some sort of settlement. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw a large wall of metal and a large door protected by a watchman perched up as lookout and a humanoid robot of sorts guarding the entrance.

"Welcome to Megaton." Spoke the robot in an 'electronic' tone. "The bomb is perfectly safe, we promise. Please hold for threat level assessment. Threat level maximum. Admittance denied. Move along partner." Ordered the robot.

John stood around for a few moments, a little confused at what just happened.

"You heard the deputy," yelled the guard from above. "You're too much of a risk to let in here. Sorry pal, but you best just be going on your way."

Knowing he very well could force his way inside but not wanting to start trouble, the Chief complied. He shifted his direction east and moved on to D.C. Some distance off, Chief spotted 3 pig-sized hairless animals and what looked like an overgrown scorpion that was many times past its natural size. The creatures were engaged in a struggle, the scorpion verse the other 3.

"What the HELL are those things supposed to be?" yelled out Cortana.

The 3 hairless beasts, despite numbers on their side, were soon killed, and the large overgrown scorpion began foraging. Spotting John, it charged quickly, closing the distance in only a few seconds. Unnerved, John stood as the creature approached and reached out with its claw to grab the Spartan. He jumped over the monster, momentarily disorienting it. The Chief grabbed the tail of the scorpion, then putting his foot on its backside, ripped the large tail off the scorpion. Now without a tail, the mutated beast had lost its balance, and using its last moments of life while its guts poured out, attempted to snatch John in its claws but to no avail.

"That thing gave me the creeps. I must say though, that was quite impressive," congratulated Cortana.

"I do my best," remarked the Spartan.

John resumed his trek east so as to make his way into the D.C. area. Passing a super market on his left, he saw another of the oversized scorpions, this time battling 2 humans who were dressed in similar clothes as the ones Chief had encountered when he first landed. One of the humans, wielding a lead pipe, attempted to beat away the beast, but stood no chance and was quickly cut down. The other human, a female armed with a revolver, ran backwards while taking shots at the scorpion. The woman hit her back to a fence, where she began to climb the, attempting to get out of the reach of the monster's tail. Taking too long to get up and with the scorpion closing in fast, the Chief knew she wasn't going to make it out of harm's way. John took out his M6C and shot off 3 rounds into the giant scorpion's "head" of sorts, stopping its rampage. The woman looked around to see huge man in green armor, and still in shock, dropped down to the ground, holding her heart to signify her level on anxiety.

"Usually I'd mug you," cried out the lady. "But seeing that you saved me," the woman said in between her panting, "I'll let you go this time."

"How nice of you," muttered the Chief. "What are those things?"

"Giant radscorpions," Said the woman. "Now go! My friends inside are gonna come out to see what the gunshots were for, and they'll attack you once they see you, now GO!"

John nodded, and hoping to avoid any unnecessary conflict ran ahead so as to not be seen. After quite an eventful journey, the Chief finally made it into the city limits. Continuing down a street, John observed what horrible conditions the roads and vehicles were in. Up ahead, the Chief spotted a lone elderly woman sitting on a dock eating. The super-soldier made his way up to her.

"Excuse me," said John in his deep, monotone voice. Judging by the old woman's reaction, John might as well have fired a cannon next to her.

"Oh dear!" screamed the old lady. "I'm sorry, you frightened me! I didn't hear you coming."

"You know what the ladies like, don't you John?," joked Cortana.

"I apologize." Said John, being as soft as a man trained since childhood to be a soldier could be. "I'm looking for a place called the Citadel."

"What? No introduction? Where are your manners young man?," patronized the woman.

The Chief sighed to himself inside his helmet. "Sorry…my name is…John."

Now satisfied, the lady returned his introduction, "It's very nice to meet you John. You can call me Grandma Sparkles."

"Ok…Grandma Sparkles…do you know where I could find the Citadel?" asked John.

"Oh, you mean where those Steel hooded boys hang out?"

"I believe they're called the Brotherhood of Steel." John corrected.

"Oh that's right. I remember when they used to come down to my wharf on patrol all the time. Some were downright rude and all business, I think the mean ones made their own little club not too long ago actually. But a few of them were real gentlemen, so helpful, and good looking lads too. If I were only younger I'm sure I coulda kept them around longer, if you know what I mean." Grandma Sparkled giggled, making herself blush.

"Ma'am, do you know where…" John began to ask before being interrupted.

"I remember one man imparticular. His name was Owyn. Oh boy, did he know how to treat a woman." Grandma sighed. "It's a shame he doesn't come around here anymore, got more important things to do I suppose."

"Could you possibly direct me to…" John started only to be interrupted again.

"You must be absolutely exhausted wearing all that armor sonny. Can Grandma Sparkles cook you up something to eat? Perhaps some Mirelurk meat? Maybe some Iguana bits?" asked the woman.

"Iguana?" questioned a surprised Cortana inside Chief's helmet.

"Uh, no thanks. I just need to know where…" John couldn't finish a question before being stopped.

"My sons absolutely love Mirelurk meat. They actually went out to go get some, they've been gone for a while come to think of it, so they should be back soon if you want to wait around for some fresh Mirelurk." Offered the old woman.

John sighed. "It's ok, I must go soon."

"Oh…you're leaving already? Such a shame. Well, best of luck on your travels stranger, I think it's about time for this ol' gal to be getting some shuteye." Grandma Sparkles stretched out from her chair and yawned as she headed over to her shack.

"Wait!" yelled John holding his hand out to stop her. "I need to know where the Citadel is."

"The Citadel? Oh, why didn't you just ask? It's right down there, no more than a 5 minute walk. Go right past that big yella' bridge, and stay on this side 'a' the river, you can't miss it. Just watch at for them raiders, a few of them live under the yella' bridge." Grandma Sparkles walked over to a shack, opened the door and before closing yelled out "Y'all come back now, ya'hear?"

"I might have gone rampant if I had to listen to her any longer…" complained Cortana.

"I'd rather take on a pair of Hunters than talk to her again," added the Spartan.

John headed off in the direction Grandma Sparkles had pointed them to. John pulled out his M7S and M6C, just in case he should have to fight these "Raiders".

"Interesting," blurted out Cortana, "If that old coot was right, then according to my database the Citadel is located where the Pentagon is…or, was. Maybe these Brotherhood guys could be UNSC remnants."

"Let's hope,"

* * *

At the Citadel, Paladin Bael stood guard at the entrance with his minigun, scanning the area for any potential threats. It had been a while since the Citadel faced a real attack by the Super Mutants. The only real fighting takes place at the southern end, and even then its mere skirmishes against some Super Mutants who've wandered a little too far off from the rest of their group. Despite that, Bael stood ever vigilant. Among the lower ranking Brotherhood members he had a reputation for taking his guard duty very seriously, often times volunteering to serve double shifts guarding the entrance.

As the sun was set below the horizon, the sound of a combat shotgun went off, followed by increasing amounts of gunfire. Yelling erupted from the underneath the bridge.

Only about a month ago, a few raiders set up camp under the bridge. Every now and then the raiders would attack anyone foolish enough to wander onto their turf, and although the Brotherhood didn't approve of such random acts of violence, they were too busy with their own affair to care. They served as a good buffer from any super mutant attacks that might come from the north, and the raiders knew better than to try and attack any Brotherhood Knights.

This gunfire was different, however. It didn't die off as quickly as it usually does. In fact, it sounded like chaos and panic amongst the raiders. With no sunlight left, Bael could barely make out the silhouettes moving around under the bridge.

"Knight Jervey, take the Sentry Bot and find out what's happening over there," Bael ordered.

"Yes sir!"

The Knight standing guard with Bael moved out with the Sentry Bot to investigate what was happening. Getting closer, Jervey watched as a raider ran and jumped off the ledge, tumbling and scurrying along the ground, desperate to get away from whatever was attacking them.

"Identify yourself or I will shoot!" shouted the Knight as he aimed his Laser Rifle into the darkness.

After a few seconds of silence, a light shined onto the helmet of Knight Jervey, temporarily blinding him. A deep voice accompanied the light, "I am Master Chief Petty Officer John-117."

"I order you to come out and show yourself!," commanded Knight Jervey.

From the darkness emerged a 7 foot tall man donned in green power armor, holding a pistol in one hand along with some type of silenced SMG in the other, and a cannon-like weapon attached to a backpack. The armor was unlike anything Jervey had seen before. The Knight was stood there, stunned for a moment, intimidated by the super-soldier.

"Everything alright here?" asked Paladin Bael, coming up to check on the situation.

"Uh, yes sir, I do believe so, sir." answered Knight Jervey. He proceeded to point at the man responsible for clearing out the raiders camped under the bridge.

Paladin Bael looked at the large man in green armor, not allowing himself, a paladin of the Brotherhood, to be intimidated. "And just who might you be?" Bael questioned condescendingly.

"Master Chief Petty Officer of the UNSC Navy, call-sign Sierra 117." responded John.

Paladin Bael stared down the Spartan, not quite sure how to respond. "Alright….so, what brings you to D.C. soldier?

"I'm looking for the Brotherhood of Steel."

"Well….you found 'em."

Author's Notes: Hey guys, I just wanted to thank everyone who's read this story so far and the positive reviews I've received as of now. Please feel free to write reviews, I appreciate any criticism or suggestion you may have for the story.


	5. A Crack in the Wall

The Hope of Humanity: Lost in the Wastes

Chapter 5: A Crack in the Wall

"Gate control," said Bael into an intercom. "Requesting permission to escort a wastelander inside the Citadel."

A few moments passed as Bael waited for an answer. "Permission pending. What do you need to bring a outsider in for Paladin Bael?" crackled the voice from a speaker.

"He's not a normal…wastelander," answered Bael, taking a moment to glance at the green armored man beside him. "I believe Lyons would be interested in meeting him."

"Alright, one moment." The intercom responded.

Soon after the conversation, the metal slab that served as the gate was lifted up by a large crane that towered over the rest of the pentagon. Bael moved forward and motioned for Chief to follow as Knight Jervey and the robot stood guard outside. As Bael & the Chief walked, John noted the extensive damage done to the Pentagon's layered walls. During the Human-Covenant War, the Pentagon was used as the base of operations for UNSC forces fighting in the North American theatre. If there was any chance of finding out the fate of the UNSC and what happened here on Earth, this was the place.

Bael walked ahead of John and opened the door at the end of the small "canyon" of sorts. Pushing the door revealed a large courtyard. "Welcome to the Citadel," said Bael.

John scanned the area. Sentries in suits of armor similar to the man named Bael patrolled the area. There were live firing ranges being used by a few men and women wearing some sort of undersuits. The courtyard seemed to be divided into quads, in one of these quads was an open dirt ring of with two men wrestling and grappling one another. Ahead of the Chief was a gruff instructor shouting directions. The scene was all too familiar to John, a drill sergeant teaching his recruits. The sergeant's eye caught sight of the Master Chief and his MJOLNIR armor.

"Don't stop doing pushups til I get back maggots." Yelled the sarge. He then proceeded his way over to the newcomer.

"Well who do we have here Bael?" asked the Gunny.

"His name's Master Chief, Gunny," explained Bael.

The Gunny looked Chief up and down, "What's wrong, man can't speak for himself?" he asked.

"You could say that…seems to be the strong, silent type." said Bael, chuckling a bit.

"Right…say son, what kinda' fancy power armor you got there? I've never seen a model like that." The gunny curled up his knuckles and gave the Chief's armor a few knuckle. "Is this an Enclave design?," the Gunny continued. "No, can't be. I've never seen any kinda suit like this in the intel reports. Am I Right?"

"It's a UNSC design," replied Chief. "MJOLNIR Mark 6, Powered Assault Armor."

"UNSC eh? Not familiar with their designs. You mind showin' me what that suit can do?" the Gunny asked.

"He's meeting with Elder Lyons first", Bael butted in. "There he is now."

Paladin Bael pointed to an elderly man who was making rounds throughout the courtyard. Judging from the reaction of the soldiers, he was a man of high regard, causing anyone he walked by to tighten up or work harder. He wore an elaborate robe, and was accompanied by an attractive young woman with blonde hair. She wore the same metal armor worn by the others, however this one had an insignia of a lion on it as opposed to the gears and swords on the others. The man walked up to Paladin Bael.

"Paladin Bael, Paladin Gunny." The old man nodded his heads to the 2 men, then turned to John. "Is this our guest you wanted me to see Bael?"

"That's correct Elder Lyons. We found him fighting the Raiders camped under the bridge," reported the 'paladin'. "It only took him about a minute to clear them out."

"Impressive," stated the Elder, surprised.

"He also stated he had been searching for the Citadel specifically, sir." Bael continued.

"Is that so?" said Lyons, turning his attention the 7 foot tall armored man. "What purpose do you have for coming to the Citadel my friend?"

"I need to access to any files, records, and information you may have here," John demanded.

Elder Lyons stared down the green armored man. Who has the audacity to come into the Brotherhood's base of operations and start making demands? "Well that's quite the request, Mister...?"

"Master Chief," John responded.

"Yes, master chief. Well I would like to help you, but regardless of what I want, I can't simply grant you access to our databases. The blood of countless Brotherhood Knights and Paladins have been spilled in retrieving that pre-war information. To give you a free pass to it without giving something in return would be an insult to their sacrifice."

"EXCUSE ME?" erupted a woman's voice from the suit. Elder Lyons, Bael, and the young blonde woman took a step back, surprised by the voice. "Give something? Hm? Really? Do you realize just who you are talking to?"

"Cortana…," chief attempted to calm down the A.I.

"No Chief, let me talk to them." John sighed, then opened his hand. A light sprang from the hand, revealing a hologram of a small purplish woman. "This is THE Master Chief," Cortana exclaimed, pointing to John. "HE is the reason any of you exist."

"What the hell is that?" questioned the blonde haired woman.

"I am… Cortana. An artificial intelligence inside the Chief's suit, but that's not important. What is important is that the green man standing in front of you is almost single handedly responsible for saving the human race from the Covenant and extinction some hundreds of years ago. If you let us into your databases I'm sure we could show you..."

"Is that so..." Elder Lyons stared at the hologram of the woman and leaned over to whisper to the young woman beside him. "What do you make of this Sarah?"

"I'm not really sure. Not for nothing, but I heard some rumors of an escaped android from the Institute near Rivet City," whispered the girl. "Maybe this is the runaway."

"Hmm…that could explain the power armor and the A.I." concluded Elder Lyons.

"The savior garbage must be preprogrammed memories." stated Sarah, Elder Lyons nodding in agreement.

"I'm positive there's no information of aliens in the database, Rothchild would have been sure to inform of something like that." Elder Lyons confided.

"He doesn't know that…maybe we could get him to do something for us? Then we'll let him search the database. The information he's looking for doesn't even exist, and it won't compromise anything." planned Sarah. The Elder thought the idea over for a few moments

"Alright Master Chief," Elder Lyons said, playing along. "Perhaps we could make a deal, beneficial to both parties, yes?"

Cortana's hologram turned to Chief, sighed and shook her head in frustration. John shared her frustration. The Spartan knew very well he could probably force his way into the Pentagon's databases, but that wasn't the way of the supersoldier who swore to protect Earth, her colonies, and all those who inhabited them. "Go on." urged the Chief.

"The Brotherhood has been short on manpower," Lyons began "We don't make it a habit of hiring mercenaries….but, we could certainly use some extra help."

"What kind of help?" Chief asked.

"My proposition for you, should you… choose to accept, is to assist a resupply team heading to the Washington Monument outpost." briefed the old man. "Pretty simple assignment…you'll help the team in carrying food, medical supplies, and a replacement radio for the knights stationed there.

"And for doing this?" butted in Cortana.

"Access to our data archives," offered Lyons.

"Supervised of course," added the blonde haired woman, while staring down John. Chief didn't know who this woman was, but he could tell already she was a someone with a "Take No Shit From Anyone" attitude.

Cortana nodded her tiny holographic head, then turned to the Spartan. "What do you say Chief?".

Chief paused for a moment. "When do we start?" he replied, indirectly confirming his acceptance of the task.

"The team will head out tomorrow. You'll be following Knight Artemis' command. If you'd like, you can bunk here overnight in the initiates' housing." Elder Lyons pointed to a small building at the opposite end of the courtyard. It was broken down, contained a few rusting beds, and had large gaping holes in the ceiling that exposed anyone in there to the elements.

"How delightful," said Cortana sarcastically.

"Well then. Enjoy your night here. Knight Artemis will meet you at this spot tomorrow morning." And with that, Elder Lyons and his female companion headed off into the interior of the Pentagon.

The Chief headed over to the housing, joining the other "Initiates" who were finishing up their training. As he entered the room, many of the recruits turned around to see the 7 foot tall giant in green armored. An awkward silence overcame the room as they looked on at the Chief in amazement. John ignored the looks he received, accustomed to those same looks even from people in the UNSC. Instead he concentrated on finding a spot to relax. The few beds were all taken with some of the recruits resorting to laying down on the cold harsh ground. This didn't matter to the Chief as John had no intentions of taking his armor off around people who he hardly knew. John was comfortable sleeping in his armor as he had done it countless times before.

The initiates eventually got over the arrival the Spartan. Most figured if they let him in the Citadel to stay the night, he wouldn't be causing any trouble. Regardless, none of them spoke to John and preferred to keep their distance. The Chief laid down his gear next to the wall and propped himself up against a corner.

"Cortana." Chief called out softly inside his own helmet so as only Cortana could hear.

"What is it Chief?" she asked in response.

"Wake me…...if anyone tries to take my things."

Cortana smirked and gave a little chuckle "Will do soldier."

After a few minutes of silence, the unusually exhausted Super soldier quickly fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Chief opened his eyes to the sight of an endless ocean of crystal clear blue water that stretched as far as his eyes could see over the horizon. Below him was an aircraft weaving left and right behind his own aircraft. He looked around, and to his left was a man, clad in outdated UNSC Marine armor, holding an all too familiar rifle, an MA5B. Sitting behind him were 2 more men, dressed and armed in similar fashion to the first.

"The Covenant believe that what they call 'The Silent Cartographer', is somewhere under this island", Cortana's comforting voice broke in. "The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's control center. The island has multiple structures and installations. One of them contains the map room."

John surveyed the area as the ship passed over a beach and large rock formations. Below him he could make out small creatures. Tall ones, short ones, and some carrying a type of energy shield. "Covenant" John thought to himself as he loaded his MA5B.

"We're approaching the LZ, it's gonna be hot!" yelled a woman's voice over the radio. "Get set to come out swingin'." Plasma fire opened up on the accompanying pelican and bullets flew back in response." Touchdown! Hit it, Marines!"

John ran out ahead of the marines aboard his pelican. MA5B's and plasma weaponry alike opened up, raining bullets upon the hapless grunts, the cannon fodder of the covenant forces. Following up the grunts were elites, the backbone of the Covenant military. John switched his weapon for one of the lowly grunt's plasma pistol and began firing charged up shots at the elites, draining their shields at which point the marines would finish off with their rifles. John and the UNSC marines rinsed and repeated this process, securing the beach and clearing all covenant forces.

"Area's secure. All hostiles have been eliminated." Yelled out one of the marines over the radio.

"Affirmative. Pelican inbound. Somebody order a warthog?" joked the pilot.

"Music to my ears," cheered another marine.

The soldiers waited on the beach for a few minutes for the pelican to drop off a warthog. Only John seemed to notice the unusual tardiness of the dropship as the marines went about their patrols. The over the island's plateau came 2 Covenant spirit dropships, creating panic among the marines on the ground.

"Covenant Dropship!" a marine yelled. "Two of 'em!"

"It'll be easier to hold them off from inside the structure." Cortana advised. John looked around, confused. There wasn't any structure around. "Can you get inside?"

"Negative! They're closin' in too fast, negative! Chief! You gotta find the Cartographer! We'll keep 'em busy as long as we can!" yelled the marine sergeant. John was confused. He was standing right next to them, why were they shouting over the radio?

The two covenant dropships deployed their troops, elites, grunts, and jackals. The marines were outnumbered 2 to 1. Plasma and Bullets were exchanged en masse over the beach. Grunts and jackals held the front on the shoreline, drawing most of the Marine fire. The elites were nowhere to be seen. John knew they were attempting to flank the marines using the cover of the large forerunner pillar. Master Chief sprinted over to engage them and prevent the flanking maneuver. Chief saw 4 elites running up the opposite side of the pillar, just as he predicted. John pressed down the trigger, only for the MA5B clip to be empty. Without hesitation, he threw down the rifle, drew out his M6D and pressed its trigger, only to hear the click of an empty magazine as well. With no options and the elites making their way up, John charged the elites. As he attempted to pounce on the first one in line, to his amazement the elite easily caught the Spartan by the neck and held him against the pillar. John was helpless as the elite looked on, laughing at him. The other three elites continued around the pillar and soon enough John could hear the screams of his fellow humans dying as they were overwhelmed.

John listened as the last man was killed, struggling to break free but with to no avail. Finished with the attack, the Elite dropped the Chief to the ground and joined the remaining covenant in going about their patrols, all of them laughing at the human, or even worse ignoring the Spartan's presence entirely. John fell to his knees and felt a deep rage built up inside. He had been powerless to help his allies and was now subject to this mocking. He began to pound on the forerunner pillar with all his might over and over. At the height of his fury, a distant voice came to the super soldier.

"Chief" the voice rang out. Confused, John looked around for the source of the voice.

"Wake up John" the voice yelled out again, still sounding distant, yet getting closer at the same time, then the voice came as though it was right next to John's ear, "SPARTAN! WAKE UP NOW! THAT IS AN ORDER!"

The Chief finally came to, breathing heavily, sat up and pulled out his M7S aiming it around the room searching for potential threats. He was met with the concerned faces of the initiates, all awoken by the green armored man and staring at him silently.

"What is wrong with you Chief?" Cortana yelled out, very concerned.

John took a few a moments to collect himself. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You were having some sort of nightmare. You were shaking uncontrollably and your heart rate was erratic." Cortana sounded shaken up herself by John's display. "Look at the wall, Chief"

John turned to the wall he was resting on to see a fist sized hole had been put in since he fell asleep.

"I did that?" he asked.

"My goodness, Chief. You don't even remember do you?" Cortana sounded very upset now. John had always been an unshakable wall for her and other soldiers to lean on. "This sort of behavior is very similar to the Post Traumatic Stress I've seen in some other Spartans. Maybe you…"

"I'll be fine." Chief stood up and looked outside. "It's still dark out."

"Yeah….you were only asleep for 3 hours." Cortana responded.

The Chief paused for a moment. He took a seat against the wall and stared out into the sky through the exposed roof. The Chief thought about his dream. He had never felt such strong emotions in a long time, the feeling was uncomfortable to John. The Chief forced the thoughts out of his head for the time being.

John didn't go back to sleep that night. Although as exhausted as he was, the super-soldier was accustomed to spending large amounts of time awake. It came with the job. Back on Installation 04, John stayed awake through the entire week of the conflict, made possible through a combination of his enhanced genetics, training, and ungodly amounts of stimulants.

The next morning arrived, and the courtyard became busy once again. The chief stood at the entrance of the Citadel, waiting for Elder Lyons to arrive. Soon enough, Lyons came out of one the pentagon "wings", accompanied by another person in power armor, but this time a man.

"I've heard you've redecorated our initiates' housing quarters a bit last night," Lyons had himself a small laugh. "I suppose your armor really packs a punch, eh? How about we channel that outside the Citadel, hm? Anyways, I suppose introductions are in order. Master Chief, this is Knight Artemis. You'll be under his command until you've dropped the supplies and radio off."

"You hired a mercenary, Elder Lyons?" the "knight" questioned.

"Oh no, no." the old man assured. "He's just doing a favor for us, and in return we're doing a favor for him."

"Alright….you won't think he'll be a combat liability?". The Chief felt a little insulted. A combat liability? If only they knew the feats he accomplished and the odds he survived during the Human-Covenant War, there would certainly be no questions if he was a "combat liability".

"Don't worry Artemis. Paladin Bael informed me that this man single handedly took out the raiders camped under the bridge." Lyons patted Artemis on the back. "I'm sure he could handle himself on the way to the Washington outpost just fine."

Artemis still wasn't convinced. "And how can you be sure he won't betray me? Take all the supplies for himself?"

"We've got something he wants. He won't get it until it has been confirmed those supplies have been delivered." Lyons reassured.

Knight Artemis was still uneasy. "I understand Elder Lyons. Any other knights joining us?"

"You'll have help," Lyons started to answer, "But, I'm afraid it won't be Knights or Paladins. I've arranged for the Gunny to send me his best initiates that he thinks are ready for knighthood."

"Initiates?" yelled Artemis "You're sending me out there with a bunch of rookies and a guy we know almost nothing about? With all due respect sir, this has disaster written all over it!"

"I'm aware of the conditions I'm putting you under Knight Artemis," the Elder attempted to console. "But times are tough now. Due to our manpower shortages I've had rush initiates out on the frontlines more and more. The route to Washington outpost is fairly safe since the last time we've sent a resupply team, Knight Artemis. This is a good way for out initiates to gain some experience. You'll all be fine so as long as you don't go looking for trouble."

"Why aren't the Lyons Pride being mobilized for this?" Artemis asked.

"They're about to be sent to the GNR to reinforce our position there.

Knight Artemis sighed and ended his protesting although he was clearly not happy with his task to resupply the Washington Outpost with recruits and a man he saw as a "hired gun" with a suit of armor.

Paladin Gunny walked up to the group, accompanied by 3 initiates. The initiates didn't wear the power armor worn by other members. Instead they dressed in gear that seemed to be a worn down variation of the armor used by UNSC marines. "Hell, this could have been some Marine's armor" the Chief thought to himself.

"Paladin Gunny." Greeted Lyons.

"Good morning Elder." Gunny returned the greeting. "I've picked out the recruits you asked for." The Gunny gave a nod to the initiates who all proceeded to stand at attention. "This, is Senior Initiate Dubbo." Gunny said, pointing to a 5 foot 11 inch male with brown hair. "He's been training to be a rifleman, an all around trooper."

The Gunny moved on to a pale, red headed woman standing beside Dubbo. "This is Linda, also a senior initiate, she's got an eagle eye. I'm training her to be a sniper. I think with a little polishing, she may be better than Dusk or Colvin someday."

Then came the last "initiate", who was noticeably younger and more nervous than the others. "This is Junior Initiate Jenkins. He's a bit raw but I see a lot of potential in him. Either way he'll make for a good pack mule." The Gunny laughed and slapped the Junior Initiate on the back, jerking the boy forward.

"Alright Knight Artemis. These soldiers are yours to command." Elder Lyons declared. "Good luck. Steel be with you."

Knight Artemis nodded. "Alright, listen up. Dubbo, take the ammunition. Chief, grab the medical supplies. And Jenkins, you're carrying the radio. Let's move out. Our destination is the Washington Outpost."

The Master Chief grabbed the sack and slung the strap around his shoulder. Paladin Bael wished the best of luck to the hastily formed group, a group that consisted of 1 Brotherhood Knight, 3 inexperienced recruits, and 1 Spartan II Super-soldier as they headed out into the steel jungle that is the D.C. ruins.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, thank you for the great reviews I've been receiving. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out with, I've been doing a lot of playing around with ideas on where I want to take this story, but now I believe I have it figured out. Anyways I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, the upcoming chapters should be pretty action intensive.

And just so I don't get copyright infringement or anything, I do not own Halo or Fallout, all intellectual property belongs to their respective creators and companies.


	6. Trip to the Mall, Part 1

The Hope of Humanity: Lost in the Wastes

Chapter 6: Trip to the Mall, Part 1

The hastily assembled supply team set off on their journey along top of a large bridge spanning the D.C. basin. At point was Knight Artemis, Chief walking to his slightly behind him off to the side carrying medical supplies, Jenkins in the middle with the radio, Dubbo holding fresh ammo with Linda walking beside him. As they walked across the bridge, Chief noticed the "Knight" taking peripheral glances of him every few moments, as though John might try to pounce on him any second.

"So what's your deal, Chief?" asked Artemis' through his helmet's speakers.

"…What do you mean?"

"Where are you from? Most of the knights back at the Citadel say you're the runaway android from the Institute. That true?" the Knight investigated.

"Afraid not. It's a long story where I'm from. And technically," Chief paused for a moment to think, "I'm a cyborg."

"Great…so we hardly know anything about you, and Lyons sticks me with you and a bunch of prospects. I'm not saying you're untrustworthy…but…this is ridiculous. It's times like these that make me think I should have left with Casdin and them." Artemis stated softly to Chief so the recruits wouldn't hear. "Casdin never would have picked someone off the street and expect things to go smooth in the field."

"Thoughts of going AWOL?." Asked the stone cold Chief.

"Leaving? No, absolutely not." Artemis whipped back. "But sometimes…there's just a little doubt in me in the direction the Brotherhood is going…ya know?"

"No…I don't."

"Oh yeah…I guess you wouldn't. What are you at here risking your neck for anyways? You don't have any allegiance to the Brotherhood," asked Artemis.

"I'm hoping for information about what's happened since I've been gone. Your databases are my best chance." John stated simply, drawing a sharp glance from Artemis.

"Been gone?" Artemis paused. "Where'd you go?"

"That's…a longer story."

Artemis shrugged his shoulders, "Mysterious type, huh." The Knight faced forward, ending the short conversation.

"I know the UNSC never taught you how to talk to other humans Chief, but it wouldn't hurt to try and make nice with our new buddies." suggested Cortana.

Chief took a big sigh. Socializing wasn't his strong point. "So, what does the, Brotherhood, do exactly?"

"Glad you asked. We recover working technology from before the war and preserve it. We master it, understand it, and in time, hopefully begin to create technology of our own so we don't have to rely on what's left."

"And how did it all begin?" Chief asked.

"I don't really know the specifics, you'd have to ask the Scribes back at the Citadel. I do know it began on the West Coast, a group of soldiers were underground when the bombs dropped. They got out from their bunker, went out and gathered what they could to survive. As the group got bigger, they began to think bigger, rebuilding civilization, preserving information from the past. They started scavenging technology, keeping it out of hands of people not fit to use it. About 20 years ago they sent a detachment out here. Originally we were supposed to find more tech to send back west, but Lyons changed that when the Super Mutants started coming down in force." Artemis stopped his story and gave the group a hand signal telling them to halt. He then took a knee and the group followed, joined last by John.

The road straight ahead was blocked off by a massive amount of debris. To the right was an off-ramp leading down. High above the ramp was a skyway overlooking the ramp and patrolled by two super mutants. One of the greenies carried, to Chief's estimation, an RPG type weapon, and the accompanying mutant was armed with an assault rifle similar to the one held by Artemis.

"Damn…they move back in fast. The Pride cleared this area out only a few days ago." Artemis mumbled to himself, then turned to his soldiers. "Dubbo, go see if any of them are watching the shoreline."

"Aye aye sah(sir)." Dubbo backtracked some distance on the bridge to get a view of the water, peaked his head over the small barrier, then scuttled back over. "They goit a lookout movin' up and down keeping an eye out."

"Alright," Artemis began to plan. "I counted two muties up top on the walkway. About two or 3 buildings down on the right side of the street I saw some movement in the ruins, probably a few green bastards in there too. Linda, Chief, Jenkins, you three stay up here. Dubbo and I will head down to the shoreline, take out the Cerberus quietly, then I'll recon the ruins. Dubbo will come back and give the number to you Linda. You're in charge up here, give me few a minutes to get in position once you get the count then open up fire. Hold your spot up here at the top of the ramp and take out the one with the launcher, we don't need him raining missiles on us. Get the greenies on the ground level out of their hiding place. Dubbo and I will take up position in the building once they're gone it to engage them on the flank." Artemis took a deep breath after explaining his lengthy plan. "Understood?"

Linda and Dubbo gave a "Yes Sir", John stared silently through his helmet and gave only a slight nod, and Jenkins' saluted the Knight with a quivering hand.

"Alright…." Artemis's lack in faith at the unlikely band was easily visible at this moment. "Let's go."

Artemis and Dubbo silently made their way down to the shoreline from the bridge, using the rubble on the left side of the bridge to get down. Reaching the ground level, Artemis could hear movement around the corner and drew out his assault rifle while Dubbo unholstered his SMG. With his fingers Artemis counted down from 3 to 1, then when the last finger dropped he turned the corner in the blink of an eye and raised up his rifle, followed by Dubbo in support. Artemis's eyes were met by a shocked human who was in the middle of stretching out, likely having just woken up.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know there are muties only 100 meters way?," Artemis asked quietly, pointing in the general direction of the enemy.

The man shrugged his shoulders, "Well good morning to you too. And of course I know there are muties there, I'm not retarded."

"So why would you camp out here of all places? Rivet city is only a mile or two that way." Artemis questioned.

"I dunno…I've been selling my goods here for years, I like it here. They don't bother me, and if they do come down, I hear them way before they get close and I scram." Explained the scavenger.

"Whatever, just, just keep quiet and stay down here. We're about to take those green bastards out." Artemis ordered. "We don't need civilians getting in the way."

"Huh," the man scoffed. "Alright Mr. Badass, be on your way then."

Ignoring the scavenger, Artemis motioned Dubbo to move up with him.

"Whoit's(what's) da plan sah?" asked Dubbo.

"Cerberuses aren't too bright, but we can't let the mutants see us take it out, shouldn't be too hard. I need you to draw its attention, bring it over here. I'll be right behind those rocks, I'm gonna wait for it pass by me then I'll take it out." Explained the Knight.

"Right-o." Dubbo affirmed.

As Artemis got into position behind the rocks at the shoreline, Dubbo watched as the Cerberus made its way back towards the trap that was set for it. A cerberus was a curious creature. The head was recognizably human, but with multiple tongues whipping about. It had pinkish skin, and sunken, somewhat mournful looking eyes. The human part stopped at its stomach, where out behind the creature stuck out an appendage, similar in some ways to the stinger end of a bee. It made its way around clumsily by waddling on its 2 front "feet" and dragging its extension behind it along the ground. Cerberuses were rejects of the FEV process, hideously deformed and nearly combat ineffective. They acted as lookouts for Super mutants, since they had very few other practical uses, and even that they don't do very well.

Dubbo proceeded to waved and jump up and down, catching the eye of the creature. As it slowly walked over, it shot out a noxious sludge every few seconds. Dubbo was easily avoiding the attacks, but there was an unexpected side effect.

"Aw crikey," Dubbo exclaimed, holding his hand to his nose, "Dis shat stinks."

The scavenger watched and laughed at Dubbo, who was struggling to fight back the urge the puke.

Artemis placed his R91 assault rifle on his back and reached for his combat knife. Staying behind the rocks, the Brotherhood Knight supported himself against it, his grey armor blending in perfectly as he laid absolutely still, watching the Cerberus waddle past him, only an arm's length away. The creature was taken by surprise as Artemis sprang on top of it, his metal hand coming around to its face and grabbing its "tongues", forcing it still as a sharp pain began to pierce through the creature's skull. After a few moments of struggle and two more stabs to the head, the lookout was motionless. Artemis held the lifeless body then began to slowly and quietly push the monster in the water, hiding the remains from plain view of any Super Mutants.

Having killed the "watchdog", Artemis motioned for Dubbo to rejoin him. They crouched alongside the wall of a building, now moving toward the ruins that were occupied by the muties. Artemis peaked around the corner, spotting 3 mutants, each with a different weapon. One wielded a minigun, indicating this particular super mutant was an experienced combatant and should be a high priority target. Another one held a hunting rifle and the last one swinging a nailboard, an inexperienced super mutant favorite due to its simplicity of construction, a nail hammered into a wooden board.

Artemis turned back to Dubbo, "Three mutants in the ruins, one's carrying a minigun, one has a close range weapon, the other has a hunting rifle. Go run tell Linda and them, make sure they know to give us two minutes to get in position before they begin the diversion."

Dubbo nodded, then quickly and quietly made his way back to the Linda's position back on the bridge.

Back on the bridge, the group stayed behind the cover of the building, staying out of the view of the mutants. The group stayed dead silent. Linda was mentally preparing herself for the coming attack, making last minute adjustments to her scoped revolver. John recalled the "Gunny" stating she was training to be a sniper.

"Are you good with that?" John asked, breaking the silence, causing the nerve wracked Jenkins the jump a little.

Linda took her eyes off the gun to look at John then fixated back on the revolver. She conducted a deep breathing to relax herself. "Yeah, I'm pretty good. I used to practice all the time on mole rats back when I was a kid."

"Any combat experience?"

"Eh well…no." Linda admitted reluctantly. "Not yet, but don't worry. All I need is 1 bullet for each of those greenies. A .44 round for every head. I don't miss."

John could sense Linda was trying to protect her pride. Her composure indicated she was half as confident in her abilities as she wanted others to believe. Another silence fell over the group after the quick exchange.

Just then a hushed whisper came from the other side of the bridge. "Linda", the voice spoke out.

Linda stayed low and made her way to the other side of the bridge, looking over the side to see Dubbo standing on the rubble.

"What's the count?" Linda asked.

"We got three muties in the buildin' on the roight(right)." Dubbo informed. "One mini, one bolt action, one wit' a piece 'o' wood."

"Understood."

"Give us 2 minutes, then let 'er rip." Dubbo said, Linda acknowledged. She headed back to Chief and Jenkins, briefing them on the enemy's position.

"I'm gonna try to take the two muties on skybridge out first. You both get ready with suppressive fire." Linda ordered.

"I think you should let me do it." Chief sternly suggested, pointing to Linda's scoped revolver.

"…Are you kidding me? No fucking way," snapped Linda, as though John had just insulted her. "My father gave me this gun. I'm not gonna let some random asshole like you use it."

Chief shook his head and shrugged it off as Cortana laughed inside John's helmet. In the UNSC, the only thing scarier than the Covenant was female soldier with a chip on her shoulder.

Two minutes came and passed, and Linda was preparing herself with deep breaths again before initiating the attack. She take a look at the Master Chief, who's visor stared back at her, waiting on her word. She looked at Jenkins who looked like he was about to piss himself. She rolled her eyes and then lifted her fist, lifting five fingers. She let one fall, then another, then another, then she dropped her fist completely, lifted up her revolver and stared down the scope, her targets being the two mutants at top.

One .44 caliber shot rang out, then another accompanied by the sounds of shattering glass. Two more blasted off in quick succession. John knew the last two were fired too close together to have been aimed carefully by someone still in training.

"FUCK!" Linda yelled out.

Curious, John peaked up around the corner to see two disoriented mutants on the skybridge attempting to find out where these attempts to kill them were coming from. Slowly turning back to Linda, he reached out his hand like he had done only a few minutes prior. Looking at John's hand, then his face, she reluctantly handed over the gun.

"Two enemies, two bullets Chief…make 'em count." said Cortana in a daring manner to her supersoldier.

"Watch me", John replied back, training his eyes down the scope. He watched on the right as the mutant holding the missile launcher spotted John and took aim at the Spartan. John took a quick breath, held it, and pulled the trigger. The .44 round carved through the air finding its way into the head of the mutant holding the launcher. As its body fell to the ground, his hand twitched its last bit of life, accidently pulling the trigger as the launcher's exit port faced downwards, shooting the missile right into the skybridge. The large explosion caused the bridge to give way and crumble to the ground, along with it came the other mutant who was also patrolling the bridge. He fell onto the ground with a bone cracking thud, and yelled out in agony, as it now laid on the street crippled and mortally wounded.

John turned back to his team, flipped the revolver around grabbing onto the barrel, leaving out the handle for Linda to grab. "Here", he said unnaturally calm. She slowly took the revolver back, then looked around the corner to see the devastation and with wide eyes, was left utterly speechless.

As planned, the 3 mutants ran out onto the street to see what was going on. Hardly noticing the destruction, they focused on finding who their attackers were. They got their answer when they were fired upon by two tiny humans and one large man in green armor who at first they mistakenly thought was one of them until he too began to fire on them.

As Linda opened up with her revolver and Jenkins used his ineffective 10mm pistol, Chief chose to shoot conservatively, preferring to save his precious ammo and hoping the over aggressive mutants would simply charge up the hill to fight hand to hand. The situation, however, was not that simple. At the bottom of the ramp, the most experienced mutant revved up his minigun, unleashing a wall of 5mm bullets, quickly suppressing both Linda and Jenkins, with Jenkins having actually pissed himself at this point. The mutant armed with a bolt action slowly made his way up the hill closing the distance and taking advantage of his minigun wielding friend's cover fire. The Chief made a few pot shots here and there at the minigun mutie with his M6C pistol, but this one was different. It was bigger than the others, had thicker skin and made use of its minigun with relative ease, impressing even Chief and reminding him of the Brute Chieftains he fought that used heavy plasma turrets as regular weapons.

Taking their cue, Dubbo and Artemis ran to the now vacant building, taking up position in it. Now on the mutant flank, Artemis fired upon the leading Super Mutant, taking it by surprise. Dubbo joined in with his 10mm submachine gun, chewing up the beast with 5.56 and 10mm. The monster dropped its weapon, writhing in pain, and began to make a break for it, running the opposite direction of Linda's group. Artemis ran onto the street, and looking down his sights took a three round burst that passed through the hulking warrior's chest, by where the heart is…or at least where it used to be, sending the mutant to its grave.

Up at the top of the hill, Artemis watched their Supersoldier ally taking on the lone Super mutant fighting at the top of the hill in hand to hand combat. John wrestled away the Mutant's rifle, used the butt of the gun to ram into the stomach of the creature, causing its knees to buckle. The Spartan stuck the barrel of the hunting rifle inside the Super Mutant's mouth and shot one round, sending the .32 round completely through its head. Artemis stood there stunned as Dubbo ran to join Artemis on the street, congratulating him on his finishing shot.

"Well done sah(sir)!" said Dubbo cheerfully.

Artemis snapped back as though he were in a trance, not responding to Dubbo. Looking vigilant, he walked back into the ruins of the building Dubbo and him just came from. Dubbo stared at his commander, unsure what to think.

"Um, sah? Everything ok?" Dubbo asked

"Shutup!" Artemis hushed back. "…There was one other.."

Before he could finish, a Mutant came sprinting across from hiding in the building, smacking into Artemis like a train.

"OH SHIT!" Dubbo yelled out, panicking about what to do.

The mutant winded up a large swing of his nailboard against Artemis' armor, breaking the piece wood against the Knight's tough protection. The mutie took a quick look at his broken weapon, then snarled as he formed a fist that came crashing down towards Artemis. The Knight rolled out of the way with only a hair's length to spare from being smashed. Quickly getting onto his feet, Artemis bull rushed the much taller beast, knocking it back only few feet before it took a hold of him and tossed him backwards and onto the ground once again. Laughing, the mutant walked towards Artemis, cracking his knuckles.

"You die NOW," the horrible creature yelled out. As it was getting ready for the finishing blow, a familiar revving sound began behind the mutant. It turned around to the sight of a human male aiming the deceased mutie leader's minigun at him.

"Go fock a croc!" Dubbo yelled out as he rained bullets upon the Mutant, although hardly controlled with bullets flying almost everywhere but straight. However, enough rounds had found their mark, killing the last beast.

Artemis through off his helmet as he gasped for air, thankful the Initiate had managed to think quick on his feet. Dubbo threw down the minigun as his hands trembled from the vicious shaking of the rickety, 200 year old heavy weapon. Linda, Jenkins, and the Master Chief walked down the ramp to rejoin the group. Linda helped Artemis up to his feet, who took notice of Jenkins' embarrassing stains and quietly chuckled to himself.

"You know rook… it helps to take your pants off before you go." Artemis joked, causing Dubbo to laugh hysterically having just gotten a look the junior initiate's "battle" stain, making Jenkins face light up a bright red.

"Chief..." Artemis called out to the Spartan. "Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

"Like I said sir, it's a long story."

Author's Notes: Hey everyone. Sorry this took forever to get out. I was writing at a snail's pace, I apologize, hopefully I'll get part 2 out much quicker.

Anyway, about the story. Dubbo is supposed to have an Australian accent, I didn't quite know how to type out an Australian accent, so you'll have to use your imagination with that. If any of you readers are from Australia and could give me some tips, private message me, it would be much appreciated. If you're wondering how the hell a guy would have an Australian accent in Post apocalyptic America, all will be explained in due time.

Thank you for reading, reviews are much appreciated.


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